Ice breaker



R. LA MERE ICE BREAKER Aug. 13, 1940.

Filed Dec. 6, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l K M MW WM E w wQO JMW w R. LA MERE ICE BREAKER Aug. 13, 1940.

\N wk Patented Aug. 13, 1940 UNITED STATES IC'E BREAKER,

Robert La Mere,

Balsam Lake, Wis.

Application December 6, 1939, Serial No. 307,929

Claims.

My present invention relates to an improved ice breaker which while adapted for use in various ways for different purposes, is particularly designed for use with a typical roadscraper,

5 snow-plow, or other similar wheeled implement employed in the maintenance or roads and highways. In the present adaption of my invention the ice breaker is employed in combination with an automotive implement having a mold-board type of plow or scraper usually employed in scraping ice or snow from the surface of a road or highway, and my invention is in the nature of an attachment for such an implement.

In the form of the attachment illustrated in the drawings I employ an auxiliary frame located beneath the main frame of the implement and in advance of the usual scraper or plow of the implement, and the auxiliary frame, preferably, has three pivotal joints including a main pivotal joint at the front steering head of the implement, together with operating means for raising and lowering the frame with relation to the road surface, and it will also be understood that the plow or scraper also has usual or suitable means for vertically adjusting the scraper independently of the ice breaker or its frame.

In carrying out my invention I employ a number of arms arranged transversely of the implement and separately pivoted on a bearing of the auxiliary frame, so that pairs of rollers or rotary ice cutters or breakers journaled on each arm may travel over the road or ice coating on the road in front of the road scraper or plow of the implement. Resilient means or spring devices are utilized between the auxiliary frame and the separate arms to suspend the pivoted arms, and operating means are provided for placing these resilient means under pressure or tension for holding the ice-breaking rollers or circular disks in contact with the coated surface of the road. By the use of my attachment the coating of ice or hard snow, which is usually not readily removable by the scraper alone, is broken into pieces that may readily be swept from the road by the following scraper of the implement.

The ice-breaker thus involves the use of a flexible row of ice-breaking disks or rollers adapted to conform to any irregularities in the road surface with means for imposing a resilient pressure on the ice-breaking elements, in order that the coating of ice or hard snow may be ground or broken into small pieces that are readily accessible to the scraper, which follows the icebreaking rollers, and the scraper, which as usual is disposed diagonally to the longitudinal axis of (Cl. 26Z-19) the implement, scrapes and conveys the broken coating toward the right side of the road over which the implement is traveling. I

The invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements in the implement andin the auxiliary attachment as will hereinafterbe more fully set forth. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention wherein the parts are combined, arranged, and operated, according to one mode I have devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention, but it will be understood that changes and alterations may be made in this exemplifying structure, within the scope of my claims, without departing from the principles of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of a conventional scraper or automotive implement with which my attachment is combined, the road scraper or plow and the ice-breaker being shown in uplifted position and out of contact with the coated road surface.

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the auxiliary frame pivotally supported at its front end in a portion of the steering head of the implement, and showing one of the rollers or ice-brealdng disks with its pivotally supported arm mounted at the underside of the auxiliary frame, the free end of the arm and its disk being supported from the auxiliary frame by a spring device.

Figure 3 is a detail or diagrammatic view of part of the adjusting mechanism for the icebrealter.

Figure 4 is an inverted or bottom plan view of the ice-breaking attachment for the implement.

Figure 5 is an enlarged top plan view, partly in section, showing a pair of rollers journaled at the free end of one of the pivoted arms, and a portion of the resilient support for the arm.

Figure 6 is a detail vertical sectional view of one of the two screw devices for vertically adjusting the auxiliary frame with relation to the main frame of the implement and for imposing a resilient pressure on the rollers or disks as they travel over a coating of ice or of hard snow.

Figure 7 is a detail View partly in section showing one of the spring devices between the auxiliary frame and one of the roller-arms. v

In order that the general assembly, arrangement, and utility of parts may readily be understood, I have shown in Figure l a conventional type of automotive implement known as a road scraper, snow plow eta, having the usual front steering wheels I journaled at the front of the main frame 2, and the steering rod 3 and hand wheel 4, are manipulated by the operator or driver of the implement who sits in the cab 5. The rear traction wheels 6, supporting the rear portion of the automotive implement, are driven in usual manner from a motor, and the diagonally arranged scraper or plow l, which is mounted beneath the main frame and supported therefrom, is vertically adjusted as by means of the lever mechanism 8 accessible to the driver of the implement. The scraper, as indicated, is swung to an angle, or diagonally, with relation to the longitudinal axis of the implement, and when lowered for scraping the surface of the roadway, the scraper not only scrapes the broken ice but at the same time conveys it toward theright side of the road or highway;

The auxiliary frame 9, which is of triangular shape, is located beneath the main frame, and

below the auxiliary frame are mounted the resiliently supported ice-breakers that are pressed against the coating of ice or hard snow for the purpose of breaking up the coating. The front end of the triangular auxiliary frame is fashioned with an apex-head IE2, bolted between the two side arms of the triangular frame, and this head has an extension I I forming a coupling bar that is pivoted on a horizontal pivot pin I2 mounted transversely in a head block [3 of the fixed steering head It shown in Figure 1. In Fig. 2 the head-block is recessed at [5 to accommodate the perforated coupling bar and the latter has a shoulder it that rides on a rounded surface I! when the auxiliary frame pivots with relation to the head-block l3.

Adjacent the front pivoted end of the auxiliary frame a transversely extending plate or cross beam I8 is bolted at the underside of the frame, and side braces l9 may be employed to assist in holding the transverse beam rigidly in position with relation to the auxiliary frame.

Beneath the cross beam a long pivot pin 20 is supported in bearings 2| fixed to the beam, and a suitable number of arms 22 are provided with bearing heads or sleeves 23 which are journaled on the pivot pin 20. The number of arms employed may be varied and the spacing of the arms may also be varied to suit different conditions, but it will be understood that the arms are separately journaled on the single pivot pin 20 and that they extend rearwardly therefrom beneath the auxiliary frame toward the scraper or plow of the implement.

At the rear free end of each arm a spacing head 24 is fashioned and two integral journals 25, 25 project laterally from the opposite sides of the heads. Each of these journals, in pairs, has a rotary ice breaker 26 mounted to revolve thereon, the ice breakers each having a hub 21 mounted on the journals. These pairs of circular disks or rollers, as best seen in Figure 5, are retained on their journals in suitable manner, as by the use of end collars 28 mounted on the journal ends, and the collars are fixed on the journals as by means of set screws or set bolts 29.

Thus, as seen in Figure 4, each pivoted arm has a pair of spaced rotary ice-breakers or rotary disks, and the pairs of disks may normally be alined in a row across a portion of an ice-coated smooth and regular road surface. This normally straight row of disks or ice-breakers automatically flexes to conform to depressions or rises in the surface of the road, and the disks or rollers travel in planes parallel with the longitudinal axis of the implement. The rotary disks are arranged directly in front of the diagonally ex tending scraper, and the row of disks is substantially the length of the scraper or plow, so that the broken coating of ice or hard snow may be scraped from the road surface, when the scraper is in scraping position.

Each of the pivoted suspension arms, with its pair of rotary disks or rollers, is resiliently supported beneath the auxiliary frame, and for this purpose I employ a suspension cross bar 30 located at a suitable point between the pivotal support for the front ends of the arms and the free ends of the arms on which the rollers are journaled, and this suspension bar is also fastened against the lower face of the auxiliary frame.

Each arm has a spring 3| interposed between an inverted retaining cup 32 fastened to the underside of the cross bar 30, and a complementary cup 33 mounted on the arm 22 by a bracket which straddles and is bolted to the arm. Each end of the spring is attached to a perforated pin 34, 34' projecting from the center of the spring cups, and these springs are of sufficient tensile strength to suspend and support the arms with the rollers lifted out of contact with the road surface, when necessary. If necessary, however, the arms may be held in elevated position against tension of the spring by means of a U-shaped bar 35 having threaded ends passing through a cross beam beneath the arms and the threaded ends of the U-shaped bar may be provided with supporting nuts beneath the cross beam, as shown in dotted lines Figure 1.

For the purpose of raising or lowering the auxiliary frame on its pivot, as for instance to elevate the frame and ice-breakers from operative position, as in Figure l; and also for imposing a resilient pressure, through the compressed springs, to the auxiliary frame and thence to the ice-breaking rollers so that they will break the ice coating or coating of hard snow on the road surface, I provide suitable means mounted on the main frame and operable from the interior of the cab. As one means for accomplishing this purpose I have illustrated a pair of upright screws 35, 35, mounted one at each side of the main frame, and each of these screws, at its squared lower end, has a pivot pin 36 rigid therewith and pivotally mounted in a hole in a channel iron forming one of the side bars of the triangular auxiliary frame. The pin extends through the channel frame-bar from the exterior, and the pin may be provided with usual retaining means, as a cotter pin passed through the pin at the inner side of the frame bar.

Each screw stands erect, and passes through a non-traveling, rotary nut 37 having a spherical lower portion that is mounted in a complementary housing 38, bolted to the main frame, and designed to form a slight pivotal joint for co-action with the pivotal joint 36, and the pivotal joint at l2, to allow for pivotal movement of the auxiliary frame, which is required to press the ice-breaking rollers against the ice coating.

The upper part of the rotary non-traveling nut is fashioned with an integral gear wheel 39 disposed in a horizontal plane, and this wheel is turned by means of a worm 40 engaged therewith and mounted in a casing 4| rigid with the housing 38.

The worm 40 is mounted on a section 42 of an operating shaft or rod 43, between which portions of the rod is interposed a universal joint 44, and

this shaft or rod may be manually turned by turning a hand wheel 45 located in the cab of the implement.

It will be understood that each of the screw devices has a separate operating hand wheel, so that the auxiliary frame may be turned to vertically adjust the height of the pivoted auxiliary frame and the ice breakers resiliently suspended therefrom. By turning the gear-nut the screw bars may be raised to lift the ice breaker to non-active position as in Figure 1. By a reverse turning of the screw-nuts or gear-nuts the screws are positively lowered and the auxiliary frame is positively lowered until the ice-breaking rollers encounter the coated surface of the roadway, their by continuing the turning of the hand wheels the auxiliary frame is further lowered on its pivot l2 in relation to the arms 22, the springs 3i are thus compressed between the auxiliary frame and the arms, and the ice-breaking rollers are resiliently pressed against the coated surface of the roadway, with the desired degree of pressure for breaking the ice coating.

As before stated the flexible row of rollers or disks insure that the entire surface of a stretch on a crowned road, or on a road having irregular surfaces, will be traversed by the ice-breaking rollers that automatically adapt themselves to the varying surfaces. As usual, the implement is first driven along a stretch at the right-center of the roadway, whereby the ice coating is broken up by the heavy rollers, under pressure, and resiliently bearing against the ice coating, and the scraper which follows the rollers passes the material toward the right edge of the roadway. The direction of travel of the automotive implement may then be reversed and the implement passes along another stretch at the opposite right-center of the road to scrape and convey the broken coating toward the other right edge of the road. This forward and return travel of the implement may be continued until all of the debris has been scraped to the two edges of the roadway. Of course other arrangements may be made by adjusting the scraper to different positions, but the ice breaker remains operative along lines parallel with the longitudinal axis of the implement, and in front of the scraper.

I have illustrated one construction and operation of the attachment in combination with the implement, and changes and alterations may be made therein to adapt my invention for other uses.

The attachment may with facility be installed for use on the implement, and when not required for use it may with equal facility be detached from the implement by dissembling the joints. While I have shown the auxiliary frame combined with a standard type of high-way patrol grader or scraper, in some instances the attachment may be combined with an automotive truck for breaking up glare ice, fused sleet, hard snow etc.

To suit different conditions, the heavy metal rollers, which are here shown with dull peripheral edges, may be fashioned in other shapes, sizes, and with peripheral edges of various shapes other than those shown in the drawings.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with an automotive wheeled implement having a main frame, of an auxiliary frame pivoted at its front end to the front end of the main frame, co -acting means on the main frame and auxiliary frame for vertically adjusting the auxiliary frame on its pivot, a series of parallel longitudinally extending arms pivoted at their front ends on the auxiliary frame, rotary ice-breakers journaled on the rear free ends of said arms, and spring-devices mounted between each of the arms and said auxiliary frame,

2. The combination with an automotive wheeled road implement having a main frame, of an auxiliary frame having its front end pivoted to the main frame, co-acting means on the main frame and the auxiliary frame for vertically adjusting the latter frame, a series of longitudinally extending parallel arms each having a separate pivotal joint on the underside of the auxiliary frame, a pair of rotary ice-breakers mounted on the rear end of each" arm and forming a trans-- versely extending row of ice-breakers and a spring device interposed between each arm and the auxiliary frame.

3. An ice-breaking attachment for use as described comprising a frame having spaced cross beams attached thereto, a series of parallel arms separately pivoted on the front cross beam, icebreaking devices rotatably mounted on the free ends of said arms, and compression spring devices interposed between said frame and arms intermediate the pivoted ends of the arms and the free ends of the arms.

4. An ice breaking attachment for use as described including a frame, a series of laterally spaced arms pivotally supported on and adjacent the front end of the frame, a pair of spaced rotary ice breakers journaled on the rear free and of each arm, and compression spring-devices interposed between said frame and said arms.

5. An attachment for use with an automotive implement having a main frame, said attachment including an auxiliary frame pivotally supported at its front end on said main frame, vertically adjustable means suspending the free end of the auxiliary frame from the main frame, a series of longitudinally extending arms pivotally mounted in the auxiliary frame, rotary ice-breakers journaled at the rear free ends of said arms, and. spring-devices between said arms and the auxiliary frame.

ROBERT LA MERE. 

